§8.3.14κατὰ ταῦτα δέ πως τὰ ἱερὰ ὑπέρκειται τῆς θαλάττης ἐν τριάκοντα ἢ μικρῷ πλείοσι σταδίοις ὁ Τριφυλιακὸς Πύλος καὶ Λεπρεατικός, ὃν καλεῖ ὁ ποιητὴς ἠμαθόεντα καὶ παραδίδωσι τοῦ Νέστορος πατρίδα, ὡς ἄν τις ἐκ τῶν ἐπῶν τεκμαίροιτο·
Somewhere around these sanctuaries, at a distance of thirty stades or a little more from the sea, lies the Triphylian and Lepreatic Pylos, which the poet calls "sandy" and hands down as the homeland of Nestor, as one might infer from the epics.
εἴτε τοῦ παραρρέοντος ποταμοῦ πρὸς ἄρκτον Ἀμάθου καλουμένου πρότερον, ὃς νῦν Μάμαος καὶ Ἀρκαδικὸς καλεῖται, ὥστʼ ἐντεῦθεν ἠμαθόεντα κεκλῆσθαι· εἴτε τούτου μὲν Παμισοῦ καλουμένου ὁμωνύμως τοῖς ἐν τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ δυσί, τῆς δὲ πόλεως ἄδηλον ἐχούσης τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν τοῦ ἐπιθέτου· καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἀμαθώδη τὸν ποταμὸν ἢ τὴν χώραν εἶναι ψεῦδός φασι.
This is either because the river flowing past to the north was formerly called Amathous, which is now called Mamaos and Arkadikos, so that from this it was named "sandy"; or because, while this river is called Pamisos, homonymously with the two in Messenia, the city has an obscure etymology for its epithet; for indeed, they say it is false that either the river or the land is sandy.
πρὸς ἕω δʼ ἐστὶν ὄρος τοῦ Πύλου πλησίον ἐπώνυμον Μίνθης, ἣν μυθεύουσι παλλακὴν τοῦ Ἅιδου γενομένην πατηθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῆς κόρης εἰς τὴν κηπαίαν μίνθην μεταβαλεῖν, ἥν τινες ἡδύοσμον καλοῦσι.
To the east, near Pylos, is a mountain named after Minthe, who, they mythologize, having become the mistress of Hades, was trodden underfoot by Kore and transformed into the garden-mint, which some call hedyosmos.
καὶ δὴ καὶ τέμενός ἐστιν Ἅιδου πρὸς τῷ ὄρει τιμώμενον καὶ ὑπὸ Μακιστίων, καὶ Δήμητρος ἄλσος ὑπερκείμενον τοῦ Πυλιακοῦ πεδίου.
And indeed, there is also a sacred precinct of Hades near the mountain, honored also by the Makistians, and a grove of Demeter lying above the Pylian plain.
τὸ δὲ πεδίον εὔγεών ἐστι τοῦτο, τῇ θαλάττῃ δὲ συνάψαν παρατείνει παρʼ ἅπαν τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦ τε Σαμικοῦ καὶ ποταμοῦ Νέδας διάστημα.
This plain is fertile, and, adjoining the sea, extends along the whole distance between Samikon and the river Neda.
θινώδης δὲ καὶ στενός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς θαλάττης αἰγιαλός, ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν ἀπογνοίη τις ἐντεῦθεν ἠμαθόεντα ὠνομάσθαι τὸν Πύλον.
But the seashore is sandy and narrow, so that one would not deny that Pylos was named "sandy" from this.
§8.3.15πρὸς ἄρκτον δʼ ὅμορα ἦν τῷ Πύλῳ δύο πολείδια Τριφυλιακὰ Ὕπανα καὶ Τυμπανέαι, ὧν τὸ μὲν εἰς Ἦλιν συνῳκίσθη τὸ δʼ ἔμεινε.
To the north, bordering on Pylos, were two small Triphylian towns, Hypana and Tympaneai, of which the one was incorporated into Elis, while the other remained.
καὶ ποταμοὶ δὲ δύο ἐγγὺς ῥέουσιν ὅ τε Δαλίων καὶ ὁ Ἀχέρων, ἐμβάλλοντες εἰς τὸν Ἀλφειόν.
And two rivers also flow nearby, the Dalion and the Acheron, emptying into the Alpheios.
ὁ δὲ Ἀχέρων κατὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἅιδην οἰκειότητα ὠνόμασται· ἐκτετίμηται γὰρ δὴ σφόδρα τά τε τῆς Δήμητρος καὶ τῆς κόρης ἱερὰ ἐνταῦθα καὶ τὰ τοῦ Ἅιδου, τάχα διὰ τὰς ὑπεναντιότητας, ὥς φησιν ὁ Σκήψιος Δημήτριος.
The Acheron has been named according to its affinity to Hades; for indeed the sanctuaries of Demeter and Kore are highly honored here, as well as those of Hades, perhaps on account of the contrarieties of nature, as Demetrios of Skepsis says.
καὶ γὰρ εὔκαρπός ἐστι καὶ ἐρυσίβην γεννᾷ καὶ θρύον ἡ Τριφυλία· διόπερ ἀντὶ μεγάλης φορᾶς πυκνὰς ἀφορίας γίνεσθαι συμβαίνει κατὰ τοὺς τόπους.
For indeed Triphylia is both fertile and produces rust and rushes; wherefore instead of a great yield, frequent barrenness happens to occur in these places.
§8.3.16τοῦ δὲ Πύλου πρὸς νότον ἐστὶ τὸ Λέπρειον.
To the south of Pylos is Lepreion.
ἦν δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἡ πόλις ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης ἐν τετταράκοντα σταδίοις· μεταξὺ δὲ τοῦ Λεπρείου καὶ τοῦ Ἀννίου τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Σαμίου Ποσειδῶνος ἔστιν, ἑκατὸν σταδίους ἑκατέρου διέχον.
This city too was forty stades above the sea; and between Lepreion and the Annios is the temple of Samian Poseidon, distant one hundred stades from each.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἐν ᾧ καταληφθῆναί φησιν ὁ ποιητὴς ὑπὸ Τηλεμάχου τὴν θυσίαν συντελοῦντας τοὺς Πυλίους
"
οἱ δὲ Πύλον, Νηλῆος ἐυκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,
ἷξον· τοὶ δʼ ἐπὶ θινὶ θαλάσσης ἱερὰ ῥέζον,
ταύρους παμμέλανας, Ἐνοσίχθονι κυανοχαίτῃ. "
πάρεστι μὲν γὰρ τῷ ποιητῇ καὶ πλάττειν τὰ μὴ ὄντα, ὅταν δʼ ᾖ δυνατόν, ἐφαρμόττειν τοῖς οὖσι τὰ ἔπη καὶ σώζειν τὴν διήγησιν.
This is the temple in which the poet says the Pylians were found by Telemachos while performing the sacrifice: "And they reached Pylos, the well-built city of Neleus; and they on the shore of the sea were offering sacrifices, bulls all black, to the dark-haired Earth-shaker." For while it is permitted to the poet even to fashion what does not exist, whenever it is possible, he should adapt his verses to what exists and preserve the narrative.
τὸ δʼ ἀπέχεσθαι προσῆκε μᾶλλον.
It would indeed have been more fitting to abstain from departing from it.
χώραν δʼ εἶχον εὐδαίμονα οἱ Λεπρεᾶται· τούτοις δʼ ὅμοροι Κυπαρισσιεῖς.
The Lepreatans had a fertile land; and bordering on them are the Kyparissians.
ἄμφω δὲ τὰ χωρία ταῦτα Καύκωνες κατεῖχον, καὶ τὸν Μάκιστον δέ, ὅν τινες Πλατανιστοῦντα καλοῦσιν.
Both of these territories were occupied by the Kaukones, as well as Makistos, which some call Platanistous.
ὁμώνυμον τῇ χώρᾳ ἐστὶ τὸ πόλισμα.
The town is homonymous with the territory.
φασὶ δʼ ἐν τῇ Λεπρεάτιδι καὶ Καύκωνος εἶναι μνῆμα, εἴτʼ ἀρχηγέτου τινὸς εἴτʼ ἄλλως ὁμωνύμου τῷ ἔθνει.
And they say that in the Lepreatic territory there is also a tomb of Kaukon, whether of some founder or of someone else merely homonymous with the nation.